In a move towards a stronger economy for San Jose, voters overwhelmingly approved a measure to increase the minimum wage in the city from $8 to $10 an hour. Measure D drew 59% of the vote in a race where opponents outspent supporters by more than 2 to 1. Nonetheless, community members and organizations, including Partnership affiliate Working Partnerships USA, fought for the measure’s passage, and San Jose residents decided the increase was the right thing to do.
San Jose State Sociology students led by their Professor Scott Myers Lipton came up with the idea and quickly drew the support of labor, non-profits and community leaders to bring the initiative to the ballot box.
"This is a victory for tens of thousands of hard working San Jose residents," said Cindy Chavez, Executive Director of Working Partnerships USA. “The students who took on this challenge should be extremely proud of themselves for standing up for what's right.”
San Jose joins San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Albuquerque and Santa Fe among the cities that have a higher minimum wage than their respective state. Measure D will go into effect 90 days after the vote is certified, which could be March 2013.
